el comienzo proximo

la boca, buenos aires

with the maletas more or less packed and that brasil visa glaring at me from the middle of my passport, it's become apparent that i'm about to leave this great city. we will be returning for a couple noches before returning stateside, but this may as well be the swan song for this experience. after all, work has ended, a few other gringos have already returned, and a pocketful of goodbyes have already been bid. entonces, figure i'd offer a bit of a resumen for the surface-level matter that i accomplished:

trabajo: after many twists and turns, it feels like we may have created some sort of value-added contribution to our dear friend carlos. a little video we created (link forthcoming) featuring students explaining the innovations of carlos was a hit and may get some airtime in multiple forums. we also compiled some figures and facts that carlos may use to demonstrate the economic-efficiency of his plan, as well as a translation for an upcoming presentation from carlostellano. i learned a lot and definitely took more from the table than i brought, but i am a student and know that this is my role. for now.

fotografia: the photography project, otra mirada, was completed and am proud that my bag will be 4 pounds heavier from ten developed rolls of film. while there're no ansel adams in the group (i deserve a year's bad karma for that, but it's true), many of these kids now have what may be the only photographic evidence of their childhood.

castellano: i finished harry potter y la camara secreta and am making remarkable progress in harry potter y el caliz de fuego. in a one-on-one situation or classroom setting i can pretty much understand all that's being said, but still bear the closest resemblance to the speak-no-evil monkey. or, more apt, the butcher-grammatic-rules-and-move-your-hands-a-lot monkey.

diversa: i've made a ton of new friends, ate sausage every day, got hit in the head by a street crazy (everything's okay, mom), made empanadas, ate empanadas, danced at a boliche, danced in a villa, played futbol with kids, drank mate like an uruguayo, got a research assistanceship for the upcoming semester ($$$, no, actually $), memorized bus routes, had way too much coffee, attended protests, went bowling, stared out bus windows, pondered graffiti, pondered paintings, reached second in my fantasy baseball league, laughed, worn shoes two sizes too small for an entire evening, searched kilometers for bus change, chilled, gave up bus seats to old ladies, thought, carried my ingles-castellano dictionary around way too much, been a tourist, been mistaken for a local, loved, learned, discovered that if you sit next to the window on the bus you won't have to give up your seat to the elderly, hated, dreamed, cursed out buses and cellphones, walked, walked, walked and forgave a street crazy who hit me in the head (same one).

mañana: brasil

gracias buenos aires. gracias a vos